Women’s March madness

This Saturday, barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman (she/her) found a window in her schedule of self-promotion to address the crowd at the London Women’s March. It was one of several organised in the UK “in solidarity with all oppressed women around the world”, with the gatherings apparently being sparked by the election of Donald Trump. Those in attendance no doubt were warmed by a sense of validation and righteousness of being with like minded folx, and for a fleeting moment the elite girls’ club behind the women’s marches felt relevant.

Proudman told the crowd she had been “vindicated” following a three year battle with the Bar Standards Council after she publicly criticised a judge and revealed that he was a member of the all-male Garrick Club. She described how she had fought the man and won a victory for women’s freedom of speech. Yet oddly, over the years she’s said nothing in support of the women forced out of their jobs for stating that sex is real. Nor has she praised the bravery of those who faced accusations of racism, not to mention retaliation, for blowing the whistle on the abuse of vulnerable girls by Muslim Pakistani men. Meanwhile, march co-organiser Elisa Rowland took the opportunity to declare solidarity with women in Palestine and to boo “far right” bogey men: Trump, Farage and Musk (the latter was apparently bad for using child abuse to fuel racism). Famous-photograph-subject Patsy Stevenson also spoke. 

Oddly, the stickier subjects that have more relevance to British women, whether the mass sexual abuse of girls, disintegrating maternity services, or the background hum of pornography that infects our every interaction, weren’t on the table. But at least attendees were informed about Dr Proudman’s brave battle, Rowland had something nice to put on her CV, and Stevenson had a few more photo ops.

The marches were dripping with performative caring. Attendees were reminded to wrap up warm, advised to bring snacks, told it was okay to wear masks for their safety. A designated quiet area toward the back of the march was offered alongside a safe space for those who felt “vulnerable” located ahead of the (presumably decolonised) samba band. 

In what can only be seen as a failure to be sufficiently intersectional, there were no speeches from any autistic, Palestinian, queer drag artists. And so instead, the organisers invited “Britain’s longest serving trans prisoner”, Sarah Jane (né Alan) Baker. The ex-con, who once boasted of eating his own testicles while inside, later had his invitation to speak rescinded after it was repeatedly pointed out to the organisers that he was in fact not a vulnerable woman, but a very naughty boy, convicted of kidnap, torture and attempted murder. He was also investigated in 2023 for saying at a trans rights rally “If you see a terf, punch them in the fucking face!” In a statement with all the obfuscating pomposity of a letter from an HR manager, Baker’s “criminal background in interpersonal abuse” was cited as a reason for his deplatforming. The Women’s March organisers were of course desperate to show that they still stood firm with the LGBTQAI+ community (though presumably only those with the appropriate views).

The idealistic women behind the march were then given a lesson in what happens when you upset a violent man. Baker got nasty, posting multiple, furious, all-caps messages in the group’s Facebook chat accusing the organisers as using him “AS BAIT” and of “PANDERING TO THE TERFS”  by rescinding his invitation to speak.

Even without Baker’s involvement, not all of those who attended the women’s marches felt able to express themselves freely. In Manchester, a small group of what might be termed “gender critical feminists”, or perhaps more accurately, sane women, hollered “transwomen are men.” In response a man with a megaphone led the official Women’s March in a chant of “transwomen are women” which drowned them out. Meanwhile in Brighton a handful of women’s rights activists joined a march through the city centre. Of course there was no “safe space” for them, and so they ironically had to ask sympathetic men to walk alongside them in case they were attacked for holding banners such as “Woman: Adult human female”.

Having been a grassroots feminist organiser, albeit without any funding or a social media presence at the time, I know that it can be a thankless task. Not only do you face a barrage of abuse and threats from angry men, but many within the sisterhood will be looking at your back wondering where exactly to plunge the knife. Should you focus on women’s rights in Afghanistan you’ll be accused of ignoring domestic abuse in the UK, and if you address maternity rights you’ll be told you’re not paying sufficient attention to grooming gangs. It is dispiriting, and evidence of success is largely measured by the amount of anger you engender from deranged men online and sometimes in person.

Women’s interests, whether in Washington or Kabul, are not served by those who want to pull feminism into some brain-sucking #BeKind singularity of fluffy feelings

The organisers and speakers of the Women’s Marches may well be sincere, and I could almost feel a flicker of sympathy in my cold pitiless heart, were they not quite so insufferably insular. Because the time for pussy hats and girl bosses is over. Women’s interests, whether in Washington or Kabul, are not served by those who want to pull feminism into some brain-sucking #BeKind singularity of fluffy feelings. 

You can’t bow to the demands of dangerous men like Baker, while respecting the needs of women who have been victims of male violence. You can’t claim that sex work is work, while decrying objectification of women’s bodies. And you can’t whinge about boys’ clubs when you are a member of a self-serving elite girls’ club. Today, women are waking up to this, and calling #TimesUp on the likes of Proudman.